Headquartered at the São Carlos Institute of Physics at University of São Paulo, new center will propose high-tech solutions with safety, personalization, and potential for clinical practice application
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The São Carlos Institute of Physics (IFSC) at University of São Paulo will host one of the new thematic centers supported by the Funding Authority for Studies and Projects (Finep), with the goal of developing new diagnostic systems and advanced therapies using nanomedicine for application in cancer and rare diseases, including Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). The National Center for Innovation in Nanotechnology Applied to the Diagnosis and Therapy of Cancer and Rare Diseases was approved through the public call MCTI / Finep / FNDCT / Thematic Centers and was established in 2023, with initial funding of approximately 12 million reais and a term until 2028.
“The expectations are the best possible, as the creation of the new center will consolidate our ongoing research in a frontier and highly important area regarding the use of nanotechnology in cancer diagnosis and therapy, especially glioblastoma, lung cancer, and rare diseases,” highlights Valtencir Zucolotto, professor and researcher at IFSC who will coordinate the center. The initiative originated from the work and results obtained by the Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicology Group (GNano) at IFSC, founded in 2012 and also coordinated by Zucolotto. In addition to him, participate from the center professors Osvaldo Novais de Oliveira Jr. and Cleber Mendonça, from the Polymer Group, Prof. Bernhard Gross and from the Photonics Group, respectively, both from IFSC.
The center will be maintained by IFSC, with professors and researchers engaged in research and outreach activities, including external collaborations such as researchers from the Hospital de Amor (Barretos), the USP School of Medicine (FM), and the Cancer Institute of the State of São Paulo (Icesp), in São Paulo, as well as several international institutions.
“Although our GNano group already works in these two areas, the new center will allow for the expansion of infrastructure, facilities, and human resources, creating a dedicated space for science and innovation. We intend to establish new academic/scientific collaborations and also with companies in the field, to accelerate the development of new nanodrugs, and also speed up potential technology transfer to the Unified Health System (SUS) and/or companies,” explains the coordinator.
New paradigms
The use of nanomedicine in rare diseases represents a new therapeutic paradigm, especially for patients who previously had few or no treatment options. The new center will offer high-tech solutions, with safety, customization, and the potential to bring these therapies into large-scale clinical practice.
In the area of cancer, the work will be based on the application of new nanoparticles developed in recent years by the GNano group, capable of delivering specific antitumor drugs with high specificity, thanks to the use of biomimetic systems.
The center’s objectives include three areas. The first is related to theranostic nanomedicine, which focuses on developing nanoparticles that combine diagnosis and therapy, detecting tumors and simultaneously eliminating diseased cells. The second strand is nanovaccines and immunotherapy, creating personalized nanovaccine formulations that “teach” the immune system to recognize and attack tumor cells, particularly in cancer and rare diseases. Finally, nanotoxicology, with the analysis of the risks and impacts of nanoparticles on the body and the environment, ensuring safety in clinical applications.
In 2024, GNano received one of the Veja Saúde & Oncoclínicas Medical Innovation Awards for the nanomedicine technology developed for nasal drug administration in the treatment of glioblastoma.
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English version: Nexus Traduções
